A Child's Welcome

[I started out this sermon by telling a story about getting a cheesesteak at Angelo’s in King of Prussia, PA- I can’t do the story justice here]

Mark 9:30-37 A Child’s Welcome

Mark 9:30-37, They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.

35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

The doctor took his patient into his office and said, "I have some good news and some bad news."

The patient said, "Give me the good news."

The doctor said, "They’re going to name a disease after you."

What kind of Good News is this? What kind of good news is in order to be first you must be a servant?

Good news is sometimes like those shock paddles- that they use to bring you back to life- it shocks you in order to bring life to you. Good news of God does not keep us where we are- because left to our own devices we are selfish- and will argue about who’s the best- and other silly things

What does it mean to be first in the kingdom of God? It means becoming a servant to others.Stumbling Block- Who’s the greatest?- My needs, my preferences are more important than yours- anti-listening- fear of the newcomer

V. 30-31 “Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples.”

An important trait of a disciple: teachability

Not asking for perfection- but willing to learn and change attitude

A most amazing thing about kids- is how fast and how much they are learning

There is a story about a father who became disturbed about the length of time his six year old son was taking to get home from school.

The father decided he would make the trip to discover for himself how long it should take a small boy to cover the distance.

The father settled on 20 minutes but his son was still taking an hour. Finally the father decided to make the trip with his son.

After the trip, the father said, "The 20 minutes I thought reasonable was right, but I failed to consider such important things as a side trip to track down a trail of ants...or an educational stop to watch a man fix a flat tire...or the time it took to swing around a half dozen telephone poles...or how much time it took for a boy just to get acquainted with two stray dogs and brown cat.

"In short," said the father, "I had forgotten what it is really like to be six years old."

We forget what is to really be a child-

Application:

What would it look like for you to act more like a child of God?

How can we be people who welcome children and are “servant(s) of all”?

Do you serve others in any way? With time, giving, talents?

Do you make sacrifices in your life so children in poverty can have a better life

Youth ministry is supporting an AIDS orphan in China this year- via Judy Sutterlin, missionary

Do you view church worship as a thing that simply serves you- or as a time that helps shape you into a better servant for others. If you are coming to worship just to be served and not to be changed into a servant- you have got to come and talk to me.

Do you talk about others more than you pray for others

Do you complain about children more than you pray for them

Friends we are invited to live and serve in the God’s Kingdom

But we must understand- in God’s kingdom we live by God’s plan and not our own-

God’s plan is for kingdom people to be loving, welcoming people

People who change in order to serve others-

A kingdom where service is above self

A kingdom where every child is welcome- and in doing so we welcome Christ Himself- You are a loved child of God. Act like it.